Manage Connections in IIS Manager (IIS 8)

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Applies To: Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012

You can connect remotely to web servers, sites, and applications by using IIS Manager. Remote connections let server administrators configure IIS and ASP.NET settings without having to log on to the physical server or by using Terminal Server. By using delegation in IIS 8, a server administrator can delegate specific features to a site or an application. Permitted users can then connect to that site or application, and they can configure the features that are delegated to that site or application.

This task includes the procedures described in this topic.

Connect to a web server by specifying connection details manually

By using IIS Manager, you can connect to a web server remotely to configure IIS settings. You can use this method if you cannot log on to the web server directly or the server is not configured to use Terminal Server for remote administration.

Important

Only web server administrators on a web server can remotely connect to the server by using IIS Manager. Additionally, the server administrator must enable remote connections and must specify whether to accept only Windows credentials or both Windows and IIS Manager user credentials.

To connect to a web server by using IIS Manager

  1. Open IIS Manager. For information about opening IIS Manager, see Open IIS Manager (IIS 8).

  2. In the Connections pane, expand Create New Connection in the toolbar.

  3. Click Connect to a Server to open the Connect to Server Wizard.

  4. On the Specify Server Connection Details page, in the Server name box, type the name of the server to which you want to connect. If you must specify a port number over which to connect, type the port number with a colon after the server name. For example, type WESTSRV01:8080. To connect to the local computer, type localhost instead of the server name.

  5. Click Next. On the Provide Credentials page type a user name and password in the User name and Password boxes.

  6. Click Next.

  7. On the Specify a Connection Name page, in the Connection Name box, type a friendly name for your connection and then click Finish. This friendly name appears in the tree after the connection is made.

Connect to a Site by Using IIS Manager

By using IIS Manager, you can connect remotely to a site to configure IIS settings. Connecting remotely is helpful if you are an IIS Manager user or a Windows user who wants to configure your site through the UI. Remote connection is also convenient if you are a server administrator who wants to save changes to the site in the site's Web.config file instead of in the server-level configuration files, ApplicationHost.config and the root Web.config.

Note

To log on to a site as an IIS Manager user or a Windows user, you must have been given the appropriate permissions and provided with logon information by a server administrator. Additionally, the server administrator must enable remote connections and must specify whether to accept only Windows credentials or both Windows and IIS Manager user credentials.

To connect to a site by using IIS Manager

  1. Open IIS Manager. For information about opening IIS Manager, see Open IIS Manager (IIS 8).

  2. In the Connections pane, expand Create New Connection in the toolbar.

  3. Click Connect to a Site to open the Connect to Site Wizard.

  4. On the Specify Site Connection Details page:

    • In the Server name box, type the name of the server that hosts the site to which you want to connect. If you must specify a port number over which to connect, type the port number with a colon after the server name. For example, type WESTSRV01:8080. If you connect to a site that is hosted on the local computer, type localhost instead of the server name.

    • In the Site name box, type the friendly name of the site to which you want to connect. For example, type Default Web Site.

  5. Click Next.

  6. On the Provide Credentials page, type a user name and password in the User name and Password boxes.

  7. Click Next.

  8. On the Specify a Connection Name page, in the Connection Name box, type a friendly name for your connection and then click Finish. This friendly name appears in the tree after the connection is made.

Connect to an Application by Using IIS Manager

By using IIS Manager, you can connect remotely to an application to configure IIS settings. Connecting remotely is helpful if you are an IIS Manager user or a Windows user who wants to configure your web application through the UI, or if you are a server administrator who wants to save changes to the application in the application's Web.config file instead of in the server-level configuration files, ApplicationHost.config and the root Web.config.

Note

To log on as an IIS Manager user or a Windows user, you must have been given the appropriate permissions and provided with logon information by a server administrator. Additionally, the server administrator must enable remote connections and must specify whether to accept only Windows credentials or both Windows and IIS Manager user credentials.

To connect to an application by using IIS Manager

  1. Open IIS Manager. For information about opening IIS Manager, see Open IIS Manager (IIS 8).

  2. In the Connections pane, expand Create New Connection in the toolbar.

  3. Click Connect to an Application to open the Connect to Application Wizard.

  4. On the Specify Application Connection Details page:

    • In the Server name box, type the name of the server that hosts the site to which you want to connect. If you must specify a port number over which to connect, type the port number with a colon after the server name. For example, type WESTSRV01:8080. If you connect to an application that is hosted on the local computer, type localhost instead of the server name.

    • In the Site name box, type the friendly name of the site that contains the application to which you want to connect.

    • In the Application name box, type the friendly name of the application to which you want to connect.

  5. Click Next.

  6. On the Provide Credentials page, type a user name and password in the User name and Password boxes. These credentials can be for either a Windows account or an IIS Manager user account.

  7. Click Next.

  8. On the Specify a Connection Name page, in the Connection Name box, type a friendly name for your connection and then click Finish. This friendly name appears in the tree after the connection is made.

Save a List of Current Connections in IIS Manager

When you have several connections open in IIS Manager, and you want to save those connections so that they return when you reopen the tool, you can save that current list of connections. When you reopen the tool, the saved connections display in the tree in the Connections pane, but you must expand a connection so that it actually opens the connection.

Note

You must connect to a web server, site, or application before it is added to the tree in the Connections pane.

To save a list of current connections in IIS Manager

  1. Open IIS Manager. For information about opening IIS Manager, see Open IIS Manager (IIS 8).

  2. Connect to any of the web servers, sites, or applications for which you want to save connections.

  3. In the Connections pane, click Save Current Connections in the toolbar.

See Also

IIS Manager UI (IIS 8)